In the latest episode of Pablo Torre Finds Out, Torre sits down with Philippine Basketball aficionado and author of Pacific Rims Rafe Bartholomew to discuss the inspiration for the 4-point shot and its potential influence on the modern NBA.
I went on @pablofindsout to talk about the PBA becoming the world's first pro league with a 4-point line, and along the way we indulged in every opportunity to wax poetic about Philippine basketball past and present, from Mommy Crispa to Scotty Hopson. https://t.co/o0SMhjiyNR
— Rafe Bartholomew (@Rafeboogs) February 25, 2025
The Philippine Basketball Association is the second oldest league in the world and turns 50 this year. According to Bartholomew, the game of basketball was an extension of colonialism in the Philippines’ inception, which explains how the country got ahead in its exposure to basketball. Basketball was invented in 1891 by James Naismith, and by 1912, it was a part of the physical education curriculum in the Philippines. Filipinos started learning the game sooner, trailing behind only the U.S. and Canada, Bartholomew explained. By understanding the game early, Bartholomew noted that the Filipinos played with a level of skill that the nations that have surpassed them today did not have back then. Their impact was felt in the 1936 Olympic Games, the first featuring basketball as an event, where the Filipinos’ only loss was to the U.S. right before the medal qualifying round. However, Bartholomew noted that they beat Mexico, which took home the bronze. It was not until the 1954 World Games in Brazil that the Philippines won a bronze medal, making it the only East Asian country to medal in an international basketball competition.
Fast forward to today, and the current state of the PBA has lost some of its luster from its golden days. Fans are not coming out to games as much as they used to, Bartholomew explained. The PBA in the 1970s, ’80s, ’90s and well into the 2000s was a cornerstone of pop culture in the Philippines. The star players for the PBA were just as popular as some of the most notable entertainers. Ultimately the business behind the PBA is strong. However, it needed a kick in the pants, if you will. Last year’s PBA All-Star game ushered in the idea of the 4-point shot as a way to bring excitement back to the PBA. In the game, a guard hit two 4-point shots, with one of them being a foul that ultimately sent the game into overtime and led to victory. The ending of the game, in turn, sparked the influence of the PBA to implement the 4-point shot during the regular season.
The only problem is that the PBA did not inform the competition committee or its coaches of the change. They had three weeks to prepare for this 4 four-point shot line that would be painted 27 feet from the basket. Bartholomew spoke with one of the most accomplished basketball coaches in Philippines history, Chot Reyes, head coach of the TNT Tropang Giga, who expressed that teams have to guard the 4-point line either without fouling or fouling before the player gets the shot off. In Reyes’ words, a 10-point lead with one minute left is not safe, as his team was defeated by a four-point shot late taken by Scotty Hopsin of the Converge FiberXers.
Scotty Hopson hits the first game-winning 4-point shot in PBA history and it was a thing of beauty! pic.twitter.com/wa6AcGFeQv
— PBA insider 🏀 (@PBAinsider) August 27, 2024
But is 27 feet far enough given the range of some of basketball’s top 3-point shooters? Bartholomew explained that he thinks 27 feet is too close for NBA-caliber players. Torre puts it into perspective by acknowledging that the current NBA three-point shot is 23 feet 9 inches and 22 feet in the corners. Players like Steph Curry, Trae Young, and Damian Lillard statistically have had great shooting seasons where their average three-point shots have been beyond 27 feet. Bartholomew added for a player like Caitlin Clark, her average three-pointer lies in the 28-foot range.
Could the 4-point shot actually work in the NBA?? 👀
"Players like Steph, Dame, Trae Young have actually had full seasons in their career when their average made 3 came from beyond 27 feet. [Caitlin Clark's] average made 3 is like 28-something."
This radical experiment is… pic.twitter.com/ynJmRv4fXD
— Pablo Torre Finds Out (@pablofindsout) February 25, 2025
So, if the NBA or WNBA were to implement a 4-point shot line, it would have to be further than 27 feet because, for some of the top 3-point shooters, 27 feet is like throwing a rock in the ocean. But, there was one man, one NBA player who was ahead of his time when it comes to the 4-point shot. So, Pablo had to get in touch with Antoine Walker, a man who when asked why he took so many 3-pointers responded that he did so because there weren’t any 4s. That’s right, Pablo spoke with former NBA All-Star and champion Antoine Walker. The former Celtic admits he made the comment in the spur of the moment and that he was surprised it caught on like it did, especially since he admits he was being a “little ahole” at the time because he was getting tired of the questions about his propensity to shoot from behind the arc. So someday, Pablo is going to take Antoine to the Philippines, show him that line and see if he could see himself pulling up for a 4-pointer surely to be followed by the Walker wiggle.
Check out the below episode of Pablo Torre Finds Out. Stay tuned, everybody, stay tuned!
SHOW BREAKDOWN
Freedom of the Four: We Tracked a Radical Experiment in Basketball Nirvana
- It is a far-fetched innovation floated by American hoops heads for years: the four-point shot. But as our far-flung correspondent Rafe Bartholomew reports, there is a real-life pilot program afoot — half a world away, in a galaxy-brained league with a half-century’s worth of swag: the Philippine Basketball Association. And it’s working. We meet the new king of long distance; watch film with a Filipino coaching legend; and then heat-check this cultural exchange with the NBA’s preeminent philosopher of the four-pointer.
VIDEO:
Check out the Pablo Torre Finds Out YouTube page for more and subscribe to the show on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts. You can also follow the show on X at @pablofindsout and Pablo at @pablotorre.
